Bear McCreary is an Emmy-winning composer, best known for his work on Black Sails, The Walking Dead, Outlander, Battlestar Galactica, Agents of Shield, and 10 Cloverfield Lane. His music is utterly unique: Haunting, beautiful, and consistently unexpected. McCreary could set a score to a character brushing their teeth and the scene would be dramatic and moving.

McCreary spoke to Inverse about why Black Sails has the weirdest score he’s ever done, how he composed the Outlander theme before the show existed, and more.